OSAKA, June 28 (TNA) — Thai and Australian prime ministers had a bilateral talk on the sideline of the G20 Summit 2019 and expressed willingness to enhance bilateral cooperation in all dimensions.
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha met his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison before attending the G20 Summit.
Both sides congratulated each other for their premiership and promised to promote comprehensive cooperation at bilateral and multilateral levels, deputy government spokesman Lt Gen Werachon Sukondhapatipak said.
On the occasion, Gen Prayut repeated an invitation for the Australian prime minister to visit Thailand. If the invitation is accepted, it will be the Australian prime minister’s first official visit to Thailand in 21 years.
Meanwhile, both leaders expressed satisfaction with the Thailand-Australia Free Trade Agreement that increased the bilateral trade value by 3.5 times in the past 14 years, Lt Gen Werachon said.
“Thailand and Australia are concerned about the trade war between the United States and China and view that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) can help cushion its impacts. So the partnership must be completed soon. Australia is willing to push for negotiations on the matter,” he said.
Gen Prayut also encouraged Australia to support urgent projects under the master plan of the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS), Lt Gen Werachon said. (TNA)
